I promised to explain why Jocelyn Burgowski, the heroine of my trilogy-in-progress, made the decision to tell someone that she could fly.

Two reasons:

1. guilt

2. excitement

In the case of guilt, she was feeling like a bad friend to someone who was being a very good friend to her, and so she decided to share her secret, like giving a gift. This turned out to be a very good idea.

In the case of excitement–not so much. She hadn’t thought it through, and the person she told ended up not only not believing her, but using her telling against her.

Doesn’t this seem backwards? Wouldn’t you guess that an action propelled by guilt might come out worse than one urged on by good ol’ healthy excitement?

Can you think of a time when you did something motivated by guilt that ended up working out well–or not so well?  Care to share?